Victor Ezeja
AdminAs Nigeria joins other countries to commemorate World Diabetes Day (WDD) 2023, persons living with the medical condition under the auspices of the Diabetes Association of Nigeria (DAN) have demanded at least a 20 per cent hike in the retail prices of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (SSBs), which include soft drinks, packet juices and energy drinks to discourage their intake.
They observed that the disease has assumed an epidemic proportion yet comes with the heavy burden of treatment costs in a country where care is largely out-of-pocket. As it were, oral medications that used to cost N9,000 per month have climbed to between N21,000 and N27,000, depending on the vendor. The cheapest insulin, Mixtard, which was N3,000 per vial two years ago, has spiked to N15,000 per vial. The insulin syringe, which used to be N30 two years ago is now N200.
They, therefore, called on the Federal Government to remove taxes on insulin and divert the revenues made from sugary drinks taxes to subsidise insulin for diabetes patients, stressing that Nigeria loses $4.5 billion (N4.5 trillion) to diabetes yearly.
Prime Business Africa reports that Nigeria’s SSB tax is currently N10 per litre which is abysmally low and falls below the regional average. The WHO recommends that SSB taxes raise prices by at least 20 percent of the final retail price in order for it to have the most meaningful health impact.
No fewer than 11.2 million Nigerians are said to be in various stages of diabetes ailment, while over 132,500 of this number die annually as a result of complications from stroke, heart failure, kidney damage, blindness and limb amputations.
Speaking at an Art Exhibition, in commemoration of WDD, organised by the National Action on Sugar Reduction (NASR) in Abuja, yesterday, in Abuja, President of DAN, Dr Mohammed Alkali said diabetes costs nearly N300,000 per patient in yearly health care cost, which worsens financial hardship for patients and their families and contributes to the loss of economic productivity.
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The association called for more health promotion and awareness on the dangers of SSBs consumption and that marketing of sugary drinks should be restricted in order to create an environment that encourages healthy lifestyles. Alkali pointed out that the risk is high, given the high consumption of SSBs, which include soft drinks, packet juices and energy drinks.
He warned that such beverages increase the risk of non-communicable ailments like heart disease and type 2 diabetes by 20 per cent. He stressed that diabetes costs nearly N300,000 per patient in yearly health care cost, which worsens financial hardship for patients and their families and contributes to the loss of economic productivity.
Also speaking at the Art Exhibition, a patient and a father of four, who has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes since 2008, Bernard Enyia, said the cheapest insulin in the country, Mixtard, is now N15,000 per vial and he uses two vial per month.
His words, “That is a very big burden for us. The insulin syringe, which used to be N30 two years ago is now N200 and oral medications which used to be N9,000 per month two years ago is now N21,000.
“My diet regime of fruits and veggies recommended by my dietician is at the very least N500 per day, for a month I spent N15,000 or more. Blood sugar test in public hospitals is N1,500 per test and higher in private hospitals and laboratories.
“Glucometers that used to be N6,000 four years ago now cost between N15,000 to N20,000 and the strips cost N12,000. My monthly medical checkup including transportation and consultations fee is now N19,000,” he lamented.
Consultant endocrinologist at College of Medicine University of Lagos (CMUL), Idi-Araba, Prof. Olufemi Fasanmade, said though the morbidity rate might not be as high as figures show, Nigerians must be wary of sedentary lifestyle, alcohol consumption, excess use of soft drinks and fast foods. Fasanmade identified early detection and prevention of overweight and obesity as strategic in the diabetes control programme, warning that “diabetes can rarely be reversed by diet and lifestyle changes. Herbal medicine has no role as cure/adjunct treatment for diabetes. No herbal medication or orthodox drug has cured diabetes”.
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